Beyond the Basics: Lesser-Known but Crucial Kitchen Safety Tips You Should Know
You mastered the art of turning stovetop pan handles toward the back of the stove from the moment your home pregnancy test showed an extra line. That doesn’t mean you’re doing all you can to keep yourself and your family secure while cooking. What lesser-known kitchen safety tips do you overlook to your peril?
Fortunately, you don’t have to guess. Here are eight lesser-known but crucial kitchen safety tips you should know.
1. Protect Your Fingers
It’s classic scary movie suspense: The protagonist clogs the drain, reaches in — and the disposal turns on. Let your Halloween imagination fill the rest of the grisly scene. You know you should turn things off at the breaker box before digging into your sink, but that’s not the only unsafe spot in your kitchen where you can get a nasty cut.
Have you ever wondered how celebrity chefs on popular cooking shows chop several stalks of celery faster than a machine? How do they manage the magic without missing a ring finger? The trick is to keep the tips curved under while you chop, preventing you from slicing off the end.
2. Keep Your Hands Off
Things can get plenty hot and slippery, not just sharp, in the kitchen. Use the right glove for the job. Look for extra-long oven mitts that protect your forearms, not just your hands, and have sufficient grips to help you keep yours. Keep your toddler from inadvertently opening the oven door by installing a lock, a crucial measure if they get curious while it’s hot.
Keep going with childproof locks for your cabinets. Finally, keep knives, handles and cords tucked safely away from counter edges where little fingers can curiously probe.
3. Address Stove Woes
Flat-top stoves can burn fingers long after turning them off, and the indicator light isn’t always sufficient. Use glass covers to protect yourself from accidental harm while they cool. They’re available at kitchen supply stores.
Furthermore, gas stoves caused quite a stir in Congress in recent years, although they remain legal. However, researchers have associated their use with significant health risks, so ensure you have adequate ventilation if you keep your model or consider replacing it.
4. Watch the Wet Stuff
Fire and ice come together in your kitchen like a George R.R. Martin novel, and the combination can be as deadly as a Dothraki siege. Water conducts electricity, which can spark a fire. Worse, it can damage your appliances that remain unseen until disaster strikes and flames erupt.
Even sheet vinyl doesn’t provide much cushion if you fall. Tile, granite, stone and hardwood get slippery when wet, leading to broken bones.
Therefore, immediately clean up any standing water and identify the source if it isn’t readily apparent. A leak can cause mold, which creates another set of health risks. Wipe up your counters after use and keep your floor dry. You might even consider an alternative flooring material such as rubber if you’re at a significant fall risk — today’s designs integrate with your decor instead of transforming your kitchen into a gym.
5. Mind the Drains
What do you do with the drippings when frying that breakfast bacon? You could create quite the homeowner’s headache if you put the pan right in the sink. Pouring grease down your drain causes it to solidify within your pipes, making stuff clog up. Worse, it can lead to backups elsewhere, creating stinky messes and downright health hazards. Instead, siphon fats and oils into a glass container for disposal — or save them for soup.
Pouring grease down drains can cause you to call a plumber, but losing your ring in one need not necessitate professional intervention. Learn how to remove the P-trap in your sink and be mom the hero when you rescue your 3-year-old’s favorite Lego character who was splish-splash, taking a bath before a whirlpool sucked him in.
6. Stay Clean
Are you a master of disguise? Your kitchen looks tidy — until you open your microwave. Guess what? All that baked-on food is a perfect breeding ground for pathogens, and radiation doesn’t kill all of them. Let Angry Mama or a cup of hot water steam that goopy mess, and then wipe it clean.
Inspect your other appliances, too. For example, you might be able to clean your air fryer by throwing the basket in the dishwasher, but reheating yesterday’s nuggets in a device caked with last week’s takeout crumbs can gripe your stomach.
7. Ease Your Aching Back
Take another tip from professional chefs and look for soft standing pads for your kitchen. Prolonged standing elevates your health risks, and the harder the surface, the worse the effects.
Therefore, invest in a few soft ergonomic standing pads for where you do the most work, like in front of your sink and at the counter. You can always stow them in a cabinet when not in use if you don’t like the aesthetic, and everything from your heart to your lower back and knees will thank you.
8. Always Unplug
Leaving certain appliances plugged in is natural, and you shouldn’t unplug your refrigerator. However, what about that blender or and coffee pot?
Unplugging devices saves energy, helping you do your part to keep the planet green. Additionally, you decrease fire and short-circuit risk.
Lesser-Known Kitchen Safety Rules
Your kitchen is the heart of your home. It should be a safe gathering place, and knowing the lesser-known rules protects you and those you love when within its cozy walls.
Heed these six lesser-known but crucial kitchen safety tips. Nurture love and warmth in your kitchen while preventing unnecessary hazards.
